Seeds of Dissent
by katzsoa
Summary: NiGHTS wants to try something new, Reala doesn't understand his sibling's antics, and the first seeds of dissent are sown. Pre-Nights Into Dreams.
1. Playtime

Deep in the realm of Nightmare, a red harlequin hovered over the black, rocky landscape. His dark eyes scanned his surroundings as he proudly surveyed his domain. He was Reala, first-level Nightmaren, trusted servant of—

A purple blur sped by, slapping him on the shoulder as it passed.

"Chase me!" it said, cheerily.

Reala reoriented himself in the air, having been knocked off-kilter by the newcomer.

"_Chase _you?" he repeated.

The purple harlequin stopped in midair and turned around the face him.

"Yeah," he said. "Chase me."

"Why?" Reala asked.

The purple Nightmaren shrugged. "Just because."

Reala shook his head. "NiGHTS…"

NiGHTS flipped upside-down and grabbed a fist-sized stone from the ground below him.

"Catch it!" he called, flipping right-side up again and throwing the stone at Reala.

Reala caught the stone and looked at it, turning it over in his hands, but it was just an ordinary black rock, like the thousands of other rocks that dotted this part of Nightmare.

"Now throw it back to me!" NiGHTS prompted.

Reala blinked at him, confused. "Why?" he asked again.

"Just do it!"

Reala threw the rock at NiGHTS, who caught it, spun around, and threw it back again with another shout of "Catch it!"

"NiGHTS, what are you doing?" Reala demanded, letting the rock fall to the ground.

"Playing," came the response.

Reala blinked. "Playing."

NiGHTS nodded, the blue feathers on his persona shaking. "The Nightopians seem to enjoy it."

"The Nightopians are stupid little imps," Reala pointed out, beginning to grow annoyed at his sibling's antics.

"I know," said NiGHTS, "but I wanted to try it."

He picked up another rock. "Catch it," he said, throwing it again.

"You are behaving like an idiot," Reala said, moving out of the rock's path.

"Come on, Reala!" NiGHTS persistently let another stone fly, this time right towards Reala's face. "Catch it!"

Reala snatched the rock out of the air inches from his nose. "Catch _this_," he snarled, whipping his arm around and sending the stone zooming high over NiGHTS's head. NiGHTS shot upwards, snagging it with his fingertips.

"Ha!" he said. "Beat that!"

He returned the stone, throwing it far past Reala, who lunged after it, catching it. Then he threw it back towards NiGHTS.

They continued to throw the rock back and forth, sending it farther, faster, and higher with every toss, pushing their bodies to the limit as each tried to outdo the other, enjoying themselves more than the red Nightmaren would have willingly admitted.

Finally, NiGHTS dropped the rock off to the side, flashing a cheeky grin at his sibling.

"Catch _me,_" he said, turning and flying away at top speed. Reala followed without hesitation, and the two Nightmarens sped across the rocky region, dodging around boulders and skipping over mountain peaks. But no matter how fast Reala flew, NiGHTS always seemed to be just out of reach, evading his grasping hands with ease and laughing all the while.

The red Nightmaren slowed to a halt and hovered, staring down at the ground. When NiGHTS realized that he was no longer being pursued, he slowed as well and turned back.

"Too fast for you?" he called in a slightly mocking tone. When there was no response, NiGHTS's brow furrowed with concern and he flew back to hover beside Reala.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, reaching out towards his sibling's shoulder. Suddenly, Reala lunged forward, grabbing NiGHTS around the waist and forcing him to the ground.

Reala smirked as he pinned NiGHTS's arms under his body. "Caught you," he said.

"You big cheater!" NiGHTS accused. "That wasn't fair. You tricked me!"

Reala chuckled. "Oh, my dear sibling… If you never set the rules, then you can never say what isn't fair. As the Visitors say, 'winner takes all.'"

"Okay, fine," said NiGHTS. "You win. Now let me up."

"Make me." Reala grinned, showing off all of his pointed teeth.

NiGHTS pressed upwards, trying to free his limbs, but Reala only laughed and continued to hold him down. When it came to brute strength, the purple harlequin was no match for his sibling.

But they both could play at the game of trickery.

NiGHTS lay limp, breathing hard as though exhausted.

"Too hard for you?" Reala mimicked him.

Then NiGHTS threw himself sideways, sending him and a surprised Reala tumbling down the rocky incline. Even as they rolled and fell, Reala tried to keep his hold on NiGHTS, while NiGHTS tried to break free. As they hit the bottom of the hill, NiGHTS pulled one of his arms out of Reala's grip and struck out at his sibling's face, knocking his persona off.

NiGHTS stared up at Reala, who had ended up still on top of him in the end.

"You look funny without your persona," he said.

"Do I?" said Reala. He plucked NiGHTS's persona off of his face and tossed it aside.

"Now you look funny, too," he said.

"More freaky, really," NiGHTS amended. "'Funny' isn't really a word that fits us, now is it?"

Reala grinned. NiGHTS giggled. And then the two Nightmarens were lying on the ground at the end of the rocky hill, equally battered and exhausted, laughing their heads off.

There was a sinister rumbling, like thunder. Reala and NiGHTS abruptly stopped laughing as they looked up to see Wizeman, the lord of Nightmare, towering over them.

"And what is this?" he demanded in a voice that seemed to make the very ground shake in terror. "Are you two…_playing?_"

Reala and NiGHTS quickly genuflected before him.

"N-No, Master Wizeman," Reala stammered.

"Do not lie to me, Reala," Wizeman snapped, one of his all-seeing hands descending to leer at the cowering Nightmaren.

"Yes, my master," said Reala. "Forgive me."

Wizeman continued to loom over his creations silently for several moments.

"Playing is a happy thing," he said finally. "And if there's one thing I will not tolerate, it is _happiness_. Happiness has no place in Nightmare. You shall not play. Is that understood, my children?"

"Yes, Master Wizeman," NiGHTS and Reala chorused.

"And don't let me catch you without your personas on again," Wizeman continued. "Otherwise, your loyalty in me might appear to be in question. And you wouldn't want that, now, would you?"

"No Master Wizeman." "Of course not, Master Wizeman."

The hand withdrew.

"I should hope not," Wizeman said, his tone a warning. There was another roll of thunder, and when the Nightmarens dared to look skyward again, their master had gone.

Reala immediately scrambled to where his persona lay and reaffixed it to his face. NiGHTS moved more slowly, getting to his feet, brushing the dirt from his vest and picking up his persona.

"He doesn't have to know…" NiGHTS muttered, fiddling with the feathers on the golden mask in his hands.

"What?" Reala stood, his feet about an inch above the ground.

"We could play when he's not around," NiGHTS elaborated. "He doesn't have to know."

Suddenly, Reala was right in front of NiGHTS, his eyes wide behind his persona and staring intently into NiGHTS's, his hand gripping his sibling's shoulder tightly.

"Have you lost your mind?" he hissed, his claws digging into NiGHTS's shoulder painfully. "You're talking about disobeying a direct order from Master Wizeman! Do you have any idea what he'd _do _to us?"

"Reala… Reala, please, you're hurting me!" NiGHTS protested.

Reala's grip slackened, and he withdrew his hand.

"I… I know what he'd do," NiGHTS said, rubbing his shoulder tenderly with his opposite hand. "But… I liked it, Reala. It was fun. Didn't you like it, too?"

Reala hesitated and glanced behind him cautiously before answering.

"It was…enjoyable enough, I guess," he admitted. "But it's not worth the price of getting caught disobeying him."

NiGHTS sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Besides," Reala continued. "We don't need to play to have fun. Remember last night, when we started an avalanche over that Nightopian village? That was fun, right?"

NiGHTS giggled. "You'd have thought the sky was falling, the way they were rushing about."

"Exactly," said Reala.

There was a pause.

"You should put that back on," Reala added, motioning towards NiGHTS's persona, "before Master Wizeman sees you."

NiGHTS nodded. "I will."

Reala nodded slowly. "Well… See you around," he said.

"Yeah," said NiGHTS. "'Til then."

Reala turned and flew away into the night. NiGHTS watched him go until he was a tiny red shape on the horizon, and then he raised the golden mask to his face.

He stopped, having caught a glimpse of his reflection in the shiny metal. He turned the mask from side to side, trying to see his whole face. He _did _look funny without his persona on; his face was emptier, and his eyes were too wide. They blinked at him, big and blue on his pale face.

It was strange.

NiGHTS put the persona back onto his face, and for a long while he stood there, hovering above the black, rocky landscape, his home.


	2. Music

The boy ran down the hill, stumbling in the tall grass but not daring to lessen his pace. He knew that his pursuers were not far behind him.

He chanced a backwards glance and saw the first black head come over the top of the hill. It was quickly followed by several more. The boy turned his head frontwards again and kept running.

They were centipedes, giant, black centipedes with silver, pointed teeth and thousands of long, spindly legs. A whole herd of giant centipedes were swarming after this one boy, with the two harlequins flying overhead, keeping the insects moving at just the right speed so that they were close enough to frighten the Visitor by too far away to actually catch him. They had already taken his Ideya; this chase was merely for fun.

NiGHTS and Reala swooped low over the boy's head, making him cringe in fear. They laughed as they took to the sky again, urging the centipedes on. Humans were so easy to scare!

The Nightmarens and Visitor were steadily nearing a thick forest at the edge of the field; seeing this, Reala came up alongside his sibling.

"The Visitor will try to lose us in the trees," he said. "I'll continue to chase him with the centipedes; you go around in front of him. Just when he thinks that he is safe, jump out at him!"

NiGHTS laughed and nodded. "Good idea. This is going to be fantastic!"

Below them, the boy had just reached the cover of the trees. Reala swooped down to pursue him more closely, while NiGHTS pulled away from the pack to take her own path through the forest. She slowed her flight as she twisted around the trees; there was no need to hurry, and a little suspense always made Visitors more susceptible to being scared in the end.

Listening for the centipedes' footsteps to judge her distance from the swarm, NiGHTS was surprised to hear another, unfamiliar sound instead. It was like a whistle, but different, moving, almost. NiGHTS curiously peered through the trees. There was a clearing just ahead of her, with a girl Visitor standing in the center. She was holding a shiny metal stick to her lips and blowing into it, making the whistling sound. A few Nightopians here gathered around her, sitting and listening to the sound.

The Visitor's eyes were closed and her fingers were moving along the stick; each time they moved, the sound changed, becoming higher or lower. The different sounds seemed to blend together into an order that somehow made sense. NiGHTS had neither seen nor heard anything like it before. Fascinated, she crept closer, entering the clearing.

Catching sight of the Nightmaren, one of the Nightopians let out a shrill squeal. The little imps scattered, jabbering with alarm, leaving the Visitor blinking, bewildered, and alone. Her eyes fell on NiGHTS then, and she gasped. NiGHTS glided closer. The girl stood there, frozen with fear, but NiGHTS only had eyes for the metal stick.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the stick.

The girl's eyes flickered towards the object in her hands. "I-It's a flute," she stammered.

_A flute._ NiGHTS studied the stick, the flute; it appeared to be hollow, with little holes on one side.

"And the sound?" she said. "The whistle noise; what do you call that?"

"Um…" the Visitor licked her lips nervously. "N-Notes. A song? M-Music."

"Music…" NiGHTS whispered the word, the strange, new word. "Make the music again," she said.

"Y-You want me to play for you?"

NiGHTS hesitated. "Does that mean make music?"

"Yes."

"Then play," said NiGHTS.

The girl lifted the flute to her lips and blew. This time the notes were quavering and unsteady, due to the trembling of the girl's hands, but as NiGHTS continued to simply watch and listen, the Visitor grew more confident, and NiGHTS heard the music as it had been played before.

It was the most beautiful thing that the Nightmaren had ever heard, these rising and falling notes, this _music_. She suddenly wanted to make it, to play it—so "play" had another meaning, one just as nice!—herself. NiGHTS raised her hands, pretending to hold a flute. She moved her fingers, imitating how the girl moved hers, and blew.

A soft, low note emerged from the imaginary flute. Both NiGHTS and the Visitor gaped in surprise.

"NiGHTS!"

Reala's angry voice echoed through the trees. NiGHTS whirled around. The Visitor took that moment to flee, sprinting out of the clearing and out of sight just as the red Nightmaren came into view.

"NiGHTS!" he shouted again, rushing up to her. "Why did you disappear like that? The Visitor got away! What sort of an ending is that?"

"I'm sorry, Reala…" NiGHTS bowed her head sheepishly. "I got sidetracked.

"Sidetracked." Reala snorted derisively. "Sidetracked by what?"

"By this." NiGHTS raised her hands again and blew into the imaginary flute. The low note sounded again, and this time NiGHTS moved her fingers, making the note switch from low to high.

"What's that sound?" Reala asked. "What are you doing?"

"It's music," NiGHTS explained. "I'm playing music."

"Playing!" Reala slapped her hands down, a horrorstruck expression on his face. "NiGHTS, you _know _that's forbidden!"

"It's not the same, Reala!" NiGHTS protested. "It's not like the other playing. The girl just stood there, and—"

"A girl? There was a Visitor here? Where are her Ideya?"

NiGHTS looked down at the ground, starting to realize just how much she'd messed up.

"…you let her go." Reala shook his head in disbelief. "You let a Visitor go…"

"I didn't mean to…"

It was a lame excuse, and they both knew it.

"NiGHTS, what's come over you lately?" Reala asked. "You're not usually this…disobedient."

"I don't know," NiGHTS replied. "It's not that I want to be bad, Reala, it's just… Well… I just want to try new things, I guess."

"New things which go against Master Wizeman's orders."

NiGHTS shrugged, keeping her eyes cast down.

Reala placed his hands on her shoulders.

"NiGHTS, look at me," he said. The purple harlequin's eyes slowly turned up to meet his.

"You need to stop pursuing new things," Reala continued. "You'll only get into trouble. Forget playing, forget this…music. We don't need them. We are Master Wizeman's Nightmarens; we have the power of thousands of stored Ideya, and we hold dominance over everything in the Dream Dimension. There's no need to go looking for trouble."

NiGHTS nodded. "I understand, my brother."

"Good." Reala withdrew his hands and glanced upwards self-conciously.

"We don't have to tell Master Wizeman about today," he whispered. "He'd melt us down for sure… Just this once, it'll be our secret."

"Thank you, Reala."

The red harlequin grinned. "Let's go," he said. "Maybe there's another Visitor running around in this forest somewhere."

The two Nightmarens flew off through the trees, leaving the clearing behind them.


	3. Friend

NiGHTS flew high above the beach, leading his flock of bird Nightmarens as he scanned the ground. There they were, the boy and the owl, a Visitor and a creature of dream. From this height they looked like nothing more than tiny specks against the sand, but NiGHTS had been tracking the duo all night. Now was the time to strike.

The purple harlequin motioned to the birds, which moved into formation around him. When all of the Nightmarens were flying in sync, NiGHTS pointed towards the ground. With savage, squawking battle cries, the flock dove.

The Visitor and owl did not realize the threat until it was almost too late. As it was, NiGHTS was close enough to the ground to hear when the owl shouted "Run, Max!" The boy fled, but not nearly quickly enough. Two birds grabbed his arms with their talons, holding him still. The owl flapped in to help him, but it was a foolish attempt. The bird Nightmarens were much larger than the owl, and one easily swept him aside with a careless stroke of its wing, sending the owl tumbling into some rocks off to the side.

NiGHTS lowered himself until he hovered in front of the captured Visitor. He examined the boy's face and hands and found the tell-tale blue glow that marked the Ideya hidden inside the boy.

"Knowledge, huh?" NiGHTS laughed. "What good will knowledge do you now, Visitor? I'll take that."

The harlequin reached out and pulled, extracting the Ideya from the boy's chest with a practiced motion. He looked at the blue sphere in his hands. It was small, but NiGHTS could feel the power running from the Ideya to the Nightopia around them. He took the Ideya into himself for safekeeping.

"Now, what to do with you?" he said to the scared little boy. "I know, do you like to swim? Take him up high and drop him in the ocean," he ordered the birds, who squawked and headed back towards the sky, the boy in tow. NiGHTS watched as they carried him upwards, and his eyes followed the dark shape as it fell down towards the water. Just before the Visitor hit the sea, he vanished, having woken up.

_Pity, _NiGHTS thought. _It's more fun to watch them splash about._

But at least he had an Ideya for Master Wizeman, and a meddling Visitor had been sent away. The Lord of Nightmare had recently increased his demands, ordering Reala to ambush Visitors at early in their dreams, to take their Ideya from them before they even reached the Dream Gate. NiGHTS's job was to catch any that somehow made it past with an Ideya still in their holding. Of course, not many made it past Reala; he was too thorough.

NiGHTS dismissed the bird Nightmaren; knowing Reala, there wouldn't be any more Visitors to chase tonight. One mistake was more than too much for his sibling; he wasn't going to make another one.

The purple harlequin looked around. It was a nice world that Visitor had dreamed up. The beach extended for miles, and the sea was a shade of blue not unlike that of NiGHTS's eyes. He liked it.

NiGHTS had just decided to see if there was anything living in the ocean, some movement on the shore caught his eye. There was the owl, sitting in the sand some distance away. It was a funny bird, a bit larger than most owls and wearing a red waistcoat and spectacles. It was acting strangely, too, hopping along the ground.

_That's silly, _NiGHTS thought. _Why hop when you can fly? Flying is much more fun, and a lot easier, too._

He continued to watch the owl, who seemed to be having difficulty crossing the sandy beach. It was glancing around furtively, too; probably keeping an eye out for the Nightmaren flock, should it return.

_So if he's scared, why doesn't he fly away? _NiGHTS wondered.

Then he saw how the owl was holding its wings. One was outstretched, but the other was held close to the bird's chest.

_Weird…_

NiGHTS flew closer, trying to get a better look. The owl saw him approach and let out an alarmed hoot.

"Get away from me, you monster!" it exclaimed.

"Why don't you fly away?" NiGHTS asked.

"I… Excuse me?" said the owl, surprised.

"Why don't you fly away?" NiGHTS repeated. "You look pitiful, hopping about like that."

"Of what relevance is it to you, Nightmaren?"

NiGHTS shrugged. "None at all."

"Then why are you talking to me?"

NiGHTS didn't have an answer to that. The owl turned and tried to hop away again, using the first wing for balance while keeping the other one tucked in tightly.

"Why are you holding your wing like that?" NiGHTS asked.

The owl wobbled on one talon and fell over, letting out a short cry of pain. NiGHTS's brow furrowed in confusion. Not even Nightopians complained over a little fall like that.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. The owl didn't answer as he struggled in the sand, trying to right himself and failing. NiGHTS reached out and gripped the feathers on the side of the owl's head, pulling him upright.

"Get your hands off of me, Nightmaren!" the owl snapped. NiGHTS withdrew his hand, but now he could fully see the owl's wing. It wasn't just held in a strange way; it was bent at that angle.

"Your wing," said NiGHTS. "How did that happen?"

The owl scowled.

" I don't suppose you noticed that when those miserable excuses for birds took my friend, they knocked me into those rocks," he said. "This is how I landed on it."

NiGHTS's eyes widened slightly. "Does it hurt?"

The owl looked perplexed. "Of course it hurts."

"Let me see." NiGHTS reached out towards the owl.

"Oh, no you don't!" the owl said. "I suppose you're going to have your despicable flock rip me to shreds, since I can't escape?"

"Let me see," NiGHTS repeated. He touched the owl's wing, and the bird flinched, although whether from pain or from fear NiGHTS could not tell. Slowly, gently, NiGHTS tugged at the wing until it was no longer held against the owl's chest but not yet fully extended.

"I can't move it any farther than that," said the owl.

NiGHTS moved his fingers along the wing, feeling the bone underneath, skinny but solid. He couldn't feel a break anywhere along its length. Then his hands reached the owl's shoulder, where they found the gap.

"I think it's dislocated," NiGHTS said. "It's not too far out of the socket, though. Maybe if I just—"

"No, wait—!" the owl protested, but NiGHTS pushed the wing, forcing the bones back into place. The owl gasped and jerked out of NiGHTS's grasp. Then it hopped a few feet away and then turned its head around, alternately examining its wing and shooting suspicious glances at the Nightmaren.

NiGHTS watched him for a while, but the bird came no nearer. He turned his gaze to the sea and the waves that gently rolled up and down the shore.

Unconsciously, his fingers curled into the position of the flute. Although he knew better than to disobey Master Wizeman, he had been unable to forget the girl in the forest and the sounds of the metal stick. The sounds, the music, played in his head often, and sometimes, when he was far from anyone else's eyes, he would play a few notes of his own, moving his fingers along the imaginary instrument, making the notes go up and down. Recently he had begun experimenting with the notes, putting them in different orders until he found a pattern that he liked.

Sitting cross-legged in the air, NiGHTS blew into the imaginary flute, playing the notes in the pattern. First he played three notes in an upward progression, the third one longer than the first two, then one lower, one slightly higher, and one much lower and longer. Next he went up again for three quick notes, and slowly down, down, down, up, up. Then he repeated the first six notes, went up three again not as high as before, and then up, up, down low, up high, down, down. He repeated the entire pattern once more, enjoying the moving notes. They were lively, but strangely calming to his mind. It was too bad that playing was forbidden.

When he was finished, he lowered his hands guiltily and glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see Reala or Wizeman there, but the only one with him on the beach was the owl, who had moved a bit closer and was watching him curiously.

"I've never heard that song before," said the owl. "What is it called?"

NiGHTS shrugged. "I just made it up."

"You're a composer?"

"What's a composer?" NiGHTS asked.

"A composer is someone who writes music," said the owl.

"Oh, I'm not a composer, then," NiGHTS said. "I'm not even supposed to play. Playing is forbidden by Master Wizeman."

"I see…"

The owl flapped its wing experimentally. "You seem to have done the trick," he said. "It's just a little sore now… Thank you."

"Sure," said NiGHTS.

There was a pause.

"Why did you help me?" the owl asked.

"Because I wanted to," was all NiGHTS could think of as a response.

The owl nodded slowly, thoughtfully.

There was another pause.

"I'm NiGHTS," said the Nightmaren.

"Call me Owl," said the owl.

**XXX**

Many nights went by, most of them without NiGHTS ever seeing Owl. But once in a while, their paths crossed, and if no one else was around they would sit and chat for a while, and once or twice they flew together over whatever Nightopia they were in.

One night, when the owl and the harlequin were hovering on the summit of a mountain, NiGHTS remembered something he'd heard a long time before.

"Owl," he said. "That day on the beach, you called that boy your friend."

"I did," said Owl.

"What's a friend?" NiGHTS asked.

Owl was silent for several moments before answering.

"A friend is someone that you enjoy spending time with," he said, "someone you like and trust."

NiGHTS thought about that for a while before asking his next question.

"Am I your friend, Owl?"

Owl looked at the Nightmaren flying beside him. They made an odd pair, the purple harlequin and the old bird.

"Yes, NiGHTS, you are," he replied.


	4. Fear

NiGHTS ducked, letting the large sphere fly past her head. As soon as it was clear, she shot upwards again, towards another globe she knew would be hanging there. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Reala flying to grab a sphere of his own. NiGHTS caught hold of the globe and swung around, using her momentum to move the heavy object around. When it was aimed just right, she gave it a sudden push, sending the sphere flying towards her sibling. Her sphere hit Reala's and exploded, sending the red harlequin reeling backwards. She smiled with satisfaction; this was an activity that depended on agility in addition to strength, and so she could get the better of her sibling more often at this than in other exercises.

"Impressive," a deep voice rumbled.

NiGHTS whirled around. "Master," she gasped, not having realized that Wizeman had been watching them.

"Come with me," said the Lord of Nightmare.

NiGHTS nodded and glanced back at Reala, who had recovered from the explosion and was staring with a mixture of awe and envy. Then he was gone, or rather _she _had gone, and now stood on the floor of her master's tower.

"You have made much progress, NiGHTS," Wizeman said, his six hands turning their gaze on her from all angles. "I find your improvement most satisfactory."

"Thank you, Master." NiGHTS bowed her head, trying to be humble although on the inside she was absolutely elated to get his praise.

"I have decided that you shall be the first to utilize a new ability," Wizeman continued. "You will test this technique and report to me on its effectiveness in dominating the humans that continue to trespass in my realm. If it is useful, I will grant this ability to Reala, as well."

"What is this ability?" NiGHTS asked, looking up at him.

One of Wizeman's all-seeing hands slowly lowered towards NiGHTS. There was something cupped in it; when the hand was close enough, NiGHTS peered over the fingers to see a small, red gem.

"This is a shard of a Red Ideya," said Wizeman. "With it, you will be able to Dualize with Visitors; that is, you will control them by taking them into your own body. Hold the shard to your chest."

NiGHTS reached out and picked up the shard. She could feel its power, a sort of humming against her palm. As she placed it against her chest, Wizeman made a motion with his hand.

The purple harlequin felt a sudden, painful jolt through her body as the gem firmly latched to her skin; no, not just to her skin; she could feel its energy coursing through her veins, changing something in her makeup—

—and then the sensation was gone, just as quickly. NiGHTS tentatively touched the gem. It seemed to be a part of her body now.

"Now, go to the Dream Gate," Wizeman ordered. "A Visitor has opened the door to Nightopia. Dualize with her, take her Ideya and crush her, and then report back to me."

"Yes, Master," NiGHTS bowed, and then she turned and flew out of the tower.

**XXX**

She quickly reached the Dream Gate. There was indeed a door there, and she slid through it, entering the Nightopia on the other side. NiGHTS flew high above the ground, taking in the landscape. There was a mountain range splitting the land in two. On one side there was a green valley with small islands floating in the air. On the other side she saw a line of hills descending towards a pretty beach with park benches on the shore.

NiGHTS would have liked to explore this Nightopia further, but she was on a mission. Scanning the mountains, she found the Visitor, who was climbing over the rocks. It was a small, dark-skinned human girl. NiGHTS swooped down and came to a halt hovering behind the girl.

The Visitor turned around, gasping when she saw the Nightmaren. NiGHTS reached a hand out towards the girl, touching her shoulder. The gem felt warm against her chest. There was a bright light, and NiGHTS felt the girl combining with her, felt the power of the girl's Ideya adding to her own, felt the—

—_Oh my god, oh my god, what is it? It's in me! Oh god! Who are you? Let me go! Let me go! Help me! Mommy! Oh god! Oh god! Oh god—_

NiGHTS reeled back, separating from the girl and tumbling down the mountain a few yards before coming to a halt. Her heart was racing, her breathing was rapid and shallow, and she was trembling uncontrollably. She stared wide-eyed at the Visitor above her, who was staring back with an expression of confusion and fear.

Fear. _Fear._

NiGHTS pushed away from the mountain, desperate to distance herself from the Visitor and from this strange fit that had come over her, but the terrible sensations lingered. She landed roughly and staggered over to a tree, where she sat, huddled and shaking.

So this was fear. It was the Visitor's fear, and she had felt it, was feeling it.

She heard a flapping sound, and then a voice whispered her name. She looked up to see Owl sitting on a branch of the tree.

"What is the matter, NiGHTS?" he asked softly.

"I… I don't know…"

NiGHTS stared at her gloved hands, which she couldn't seem to keep still. Her mouth was dry; she licked her lips to try to soothe them, but it didn't change much. She felt absolutely awful. No, the _girl _had felt absolutely awful, when NiGHTS had attacked her.

"Owl?"

"Yes, NiGHTS?"

"The Visitors, the Nightopians… They don't like being frightened, do they?"

Owl shook his head slowly. "No, NiGHTS, we don't."

NiGHTS looked down at her hands again, which had curled into fists.

"I never thought…" she tried to say, but her breath was coming out in odd gasps. "I couldn't… I couldn't have known…"

She broke off, sobs wracking her form. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but tears were sliding out from under her eyelids, rolling down her cheeks, leaving dark spots on the grass. She felt wretched and pathetic; she wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there forever. And this was how she made others feel, she realized. This was how she had always made others feel, for her own amusement and her master's gain, and it was absolutely horrible.

She felt ashamed with herself.

Gradually, her sobs quieted and her tears slowed. NiGHTS leaned back against the tree. Her eyes felt hot and her persona was damp, sticking uncomfortably to her face. She reached up and took it off, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I can't do it," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"What?" said Owl.

"I can't do it," NiGHTS repeated, more loudly. "It hurts too much. I won't make anyone feel terror again. But…"

She trailed off, having caught sight of the persona in her hands.

"But if Master Wizeman orders me to chase down a Visitor, and take her Ideya, I'll have to," she said. "I'll have to do it, or else. And it will make them feel like that. They'll feel fear…"

She paused. An idea was beginning to take shape in her mind.

"What's the point?" she said, suddenly turning and looking up at Owl again. "He tells us to scare you all, to destroy happiness, to take your Ideya. And all it does is add to his power, so he can make more of you afraid, and get rid of happy things, like playing and music.

"And I _like _those happy things," she continued, getting up, her feet a few inches above the ground. "I like playing. I like music. I like exploring and flying around, just doing things because I can. So why am I helping Wizeman destroy those happy things? Maybe I shouldn't help him!"

There. The idea had been given voice. It was outrageous, unthinkable, even. To defy Wizeman, the most powerful being in all Nightmare! Impossible.

But could she bear to follow his orders, now that she knew what they caused?

"I'll never follow orders again!" NiGHTS declared, throwing her persona to the ground. "No one will be the boss of me, especially not some cruel, six-handed, overbearing bully! I'm done being his puppet. From now on, I'm going to do things my way!"

She grinned at Owl, who smiled back.

Then the enormity of what she'd just decided hit her.

"He'll come for me when I don't report back," she realized. "And he'll be angry…"

She and Owl glanced at the sky, half expecting to see the Lord of Nightmare bearing down on them.

"You should go," said Owl. "Quickly!"

NiGHTS nodded. "Right. You get out of here, too. I don't want you caught up in all this."

"I get the feeling I'll end up caught up in all this anyway," the old bird replied, flapping his wings and rising off the branch.

They left in opposite directions, Owl going towards the Dream Gate while NiGHTS headed deeper into the Nightopia.

**XXX**

NiGHTS knew Reala would find her first; the siblings knew each other as well as they did themselves. Or at least they had known each other; now, neither the purple harlequin waiting on the cliff nor the red harlequin flying up to her were so sure of that anymore.

"You've gone too far this time!" Reala announced as he came up to hover beside NiGHTS. "The birds found your persona. Master Wizeman has all of his third-level Nightmarens out searching for you. If you hurry back with me now and apologize—"

He reached for her arm and gaped in surprise as she backed away from him, shaking her head.

"I'm not going back to Wizeman," she said.

"What?" Reala gasped. "You can't be serious!"

But NiGHTS was being serious. Reala could see it in the way she held herself, in the tilt of her head and the steady gaze of her eye. The Nightmaren had known her for her entire life, but she had never appeared this serious about anything before. But how could she be serious about leaving their master, about provoking his wrath?

"NiGHTS, this is madness," Reala insisted. "You're not thinking clearly."

"Reala, for the first time in my life, I _am_ thinking clearly," NiGHTS replied, trying to make him understand. "I'm seeing us for what we really are, and I'm seeing Wizeman for what he really is. Reala, what he's having us do is wrong."

"NiGHTS, you—"

"No, Reala, please, listen to me." NiGHTS took his hand in hers. "We don't have to hurt or frighten others to have fun. And we do hurt them, Reala; I know that now. But we don't have to. There are so many happy, wonderful things in the world, free for us to use without harming anyone else.

"Come with me, Reala," she pleaded. "Leave Wizeman. We're strong; together, we could resist him. We won't have to follow orders ever again! We'll be free to play whenever we want, and I'll teach you about all the wonderful things I've discovered, like music, and friends. Oh, you'll like having friends, Reala, I know you will! Just come with me, my sibling. Please."

Reala stared at her, and NiGHTS wondered if anything she had said had made any sense to him. Always, when she had done something against Wizeman's rules, it had been Reala who had covered for her slips and taken her aside to remind her of how to act. In just a few sentences, she had denounced everything that they had lived for up to that point; how would he react to a transgression this big?

But she had to try to get him to see things the way she now saw them. They were siblings. They had been together forever. Maybe they could be friends, too.

He just had to come with her, and then everything could be perfect.

"Reala?" she prompted, her voice barely above a whisper.

The red harlequin reached out and took her other hand. NiGHTS felt a flicker of hope.

Then Reala grabbed her tightly, pinning her so that she couldn't move.

"I have her!" he shouted. "She's here!"

NiGHTS heard the flapping and screeching of the other Nightmarens, responding to his call.

"No!" she gasped, struggling against Reala's grasp. "Let go! Reala, please!"

Reala raised a hand, and a cage sprouted from the ground. He shoved NiGHTS inside, and it closed around her.

"Master Wizeman granted me a new technique, as well, once he realized what you'd done," he said.

NiGHTS leapt to her feet and rushed at the cage wall, only to be knocked backwards. She pulled herself upright again, confused. She wasn't as strong as her sibling, but she should have been strong enough to break out of such a flimsy prison! She reached for the power of the stored Ideya but found nothing there. Wizeman had severed her link to the Ideya; without that power, she was helpless.

NiGHTS stared out through the cage at Reala. Their eyes met. They had the same bright blue eyes, but that was not all their eyes had in common that day.

_How could you do this to me? _their eyes asked, expressing the betrayal that they both felt. _You are my sibling._

Both harlequins turned away then, each unable to hold the other's gaze. As a result, NiGHTS did not watch her sibling leave her to her Nightmaren guards, and Reala did not see the blue-haired boy and pink-haired girl standing on opposite sides of the mountain, staring up at the cage.


End file.
